Top Chef: What’s Your Damage, Heather?

Heather had shown signs of being a bit focused on Beverly in a past episode, but with this episode, it has become a full on obsession. She hates Beverly breathing. Nyesha is correct when she says that Heather is a bully. Beverly’s part of the main challenge was peeling and deveining 400 shrimps, but Heather didn’t think she was doing enough. She thought she should be doing tons more, even though other people were doing small tasks like making butter or grilling veggies. She really hates Beverly and has no issue with letting Beverly know that she drives her crazy. Beverly just looks confused back at Heather like others do too. She has turned into a “Heather” from the Winona Ryder-Christian Slater fine feature film from the ’80s.

 

Quickfire Challenge

At the beginning of the episode, the guys looked around and noticed their numbers were dwindling since only guys had been sent home at this point. The next challenge took place in the culinary school in Dallas. Paul went to school there and he was pretty nervous. He felt that it would look bad if he didn’t win since he knew the kitchen. The guest judge for the episode was Dean Fearing, the owner of Fearing’s restaurant. The chefs drew knives with five different kind of mother sauces — hollandaise, veloute, tomate, espagnole and beschemel. Mother sauces are the base for all other sauces. Dean said that sauces can give the wow to a dish. The chefs had to create a dish and personalize their mother sauce in it. The winner would get immunity. They had 1.5 hours to cook.

Both Grayson and Nyesha were excited since they both loved making sauces. Paul hadn’t made sauces since he left culinary school. Beverly said she was going to have an avant gard interpretation and make an Asian-style espagnole. Heather couldn’t believe that Beverly was doing another Asian dish. Dakota was freaking out because she cooked her scallops too early so she was worried they would be cold by the time she served her dish.

Least Favorites


Dakota
Peach Infused Bechamel, Seared Scallop, Truffle & Lemon Crab

Dean said it did not have a big flavor profile. The use of the peach was overdone. The sauce was also closer to a hollandaise than bechamel.


Nyesha
Tomate Sauce with Coconut Ras El Hanout & Braised Lentils

Padma said it had a lot of flavor. Dean said she had so many flavors going on that it made her dish muddled.


Beverly
Crab Maki Roll with Rib Eye, Charred Shallots, Peppercorn, Sake & Red Wine

Dean asked why she had so little espagnole sauce on her dish. She said she already had soy in the dish so she didn’t want to overpower the palate with more soy. Dean said her coriander wasabi  had more sauce on the plate than her mother sauce.

Middle of the Road


Edward
Cauliflower Milk Bechamel with Poached Red Snapper, Crab & Fried Oyster


Whitney
Poached Shrimp, Fennel Pilau, Sauteed Okra & Pancetta

Dean asked her what kind of roux she used. She said she didn’t use a roux. Dean said a true classic tomate sauce has a roux. Whitney told the camera that she had never used one before and didn’t plan to use one in the future so she was confused by his statement.


Heather
Gruyere Croquette, Apple & Ginger Compote & Asian Slaw


Ty-Lor
Hollandaise with Lemongrass & Citrus Zest, Ahi Tuna & Baby Bok Choy

Dean asked if he clarified his butter. He said he used whole melted butter.

Overall Favorites


Chris C.
Halibut Over Mussels, Andouille, Mushrooms & Veloute

Chris cooked the mussels and andouille. Then he infused the fat back into the veloute sauce. Dean loved that he changed the sauce a bit. It added a great flavor to it.


Paul
Quail with Pickled & Roasted Mushrooms, Garlic Scapes & Okra

Dean also asked Paul what roux he used and Paul didn’t use one either. Dean seemed to like his dish better. He said the pickling was perfect.


Grayson
Scallops, Charred Corn Sauce, Corn Ravioli & Blueberry Balsamic Reduction

Dean asked if she used clarified butter. She said she likes to use whole butter. Dean was really impressed that she made her own ravioli. Dean said her mother sauce was cooked to perfection. She was declared the overall winner and earned immunity.

Elimination Challenge

The teams had to work together as one team and create a four course steak dinner for 200 guests at the Cattle Baron’s Ball at Southfork Ranch. It was a huge fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. They had to use steak in two of the four courses and the steak had to be medium rare when it hit the tables. The winner of the challenge would also win a new car.

The chefs divided themselves up. Heather went on the dessert course and decide to make a cake again since she had the most pastry experience. Heather was going to use the same cake recipe she used before from Edward. He was annoyed that she kept using his recipe over and over again. Whitney was making potato gratin. The team really wanted her to make it the night before, but she wanted to wait and make it the day of the event. Ty cut himself pretty badly and he was supposed to be in charge of grilling all the steaks for the entree course. He spent the night at the ER getting stitches so he was exhausted when he showed up back at the hotel.

The next day, Lindsay and Heather decided they would be expediting and plating. Heather was busy yelling at Beverly for being slow with the shrimp. Chris J was grilling the steak for the second course and throwing it in liquid to stop the cooking process. Ty was marking the steak for the third course and it was going to be finished in the oven by the rest of the team inside. The judges were Tom, Padma, Dean and Hugh Acheson. They were also eating with Jennifer Dix, the chairman of the Cattle Baron’s Ball, and Maria Clark, the regional V.P. of the American Cancer Society.

1st Course


Sarah, Dakota, Beverly
Tomato-Watermelon Gazpacho, Poached Shrimp & Avocado Mousse

Maria said she wished it had more watermelon taste. Tom said it was properly seasoned, the shrimp was cooked nicely , but they were playing it safe. Hugh said the acidity of the gazpacho was a little higher than he wanted, but the dish hit a good note as a starting course.

2nd Course


Paul, Ed, Chris J.
New York Strip Carpaccio, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Vinaigrette & Mushroom “Bacon”

Tom said the tomato was raw and not grilled, the asparagus was not cooked enough and he really saw no point inthe dish. Dean said the steak was cooked very well and it was perfectly medium rare.

3rd Course


Nyesha, Ty, Whitney, Chris C.
Grilled Rib Eye, Creamy Potato Gratin, Braised Greens & Compound Butter

While Ty was marking 200 steaks outside, he was depending on the rest of the team to decide when was the right time to flash the steaks in the oven. Lindsay was freaking out about them not putting the steaks in the oven in time so she riles up the team to do it. Then when the steaks were taken out to the plating area, Heather stops them since the guests were still  working on the second course. Ty came inside and saw that there was still over 10 minutes before the steaks were going to be sent out so they were not going to be the right temperature and probably cold. When they got out there, Hugh said the steaks were a little messy.Jennifer said her steak was not medium rare. Dean said the course had a big problem. The steak was not medium rare and the potatoes were not good. Hugh did say the sauce was good and the butter was great. Nyesha made that part. It was the only good part of the dish.

4th Course


Lindsay, Grayson, Heather
“Right Side Up” Texas Peach Cake, Peach Salad & Candied Pecan Steusel

Tom thought Heather did a great job with the cake. Hugh said that there was no sugar in the dessert and he wished it had more sugar. Tom said he didn’t like desserts that were too sweet.

Overall, Tom thought that the chefs could have pushed it more. He expected a lot more out of them.

Judges’ Table

Winners

Nyesha, Heather and Chris J. all had the best elements of the dish. Chris’ steak was cooked perfectly. It was the shining part of the dish. The meat was beautifully marbled and the flavor came through. Heather’s dessert wasn’t too sweet. It was light, moist and perfectly cooked. Tom said that compound butter had gone out of style, but he was glad that Nyesha made it. It really saved the dish. It added really bright flavors and integrity to a confused steak that was on the plate. The overall favorite element of any of the courses was Heather’s cake so she was the winner. She won a new car.

Losers

Ty, Whitney, and Edward had the worst elements of the night. The entire menu was underwhelming. Ty’s steaks were inconsistently cooked. The steaks should have been fired at the correct time and it was his dish so he had to be control of it. Tom questioned why Whitney would choose to make a dish with all that cream in that heat. Also, Dean was baffled about why some of the potatoes were raw. He said she had to know when she was cutting it to plate it. Edward was told he played it safe with the raw and grilled veggies. It was an okay dish done in a mediocre style, which was the theme of the night. Whitney was asked to pack her knives and go.

Last Chance Kitchen

Whitney was up against Chuy. They were given the task to create an American classic burger. They had to draw knives to see what kind of protein they would be using. Whitney had to use elk and Chuy had to use ostrich. Both meats were lean so they were concentrating on making them juicy.


Whitney
Elk & Pork Sausage Burger, Shallot & Garlic, Egg Sunny-Side Up


Chuy
Ostrich & Ground Pork Burger with Fresno Chili Aioli & Onion Straws

All the past kicked off chefs came in to watch this competition. After Tom tasted both burgers, he invited them to come have a taste too. Then he asked them their opinions. After they were done giving them, Tom said he agreed with what Keith had to say. Both burgers were very tasty, but Whitney’s burger had a bit more flavor so she was given the chef’s jacket. Chuy was done cooking.

Questions

  1. Do you think Heather is a bully or is Beverly that annoying?
  2. Do you think that Ty should have taken more responsibility in making sure the steaks were finished cooking in the oven at the right time or was he right in assuming his team would take care of it?
  3. Do you know anything about roux and if it should be used in all these sauces that the chefs didn’t use it in?

Photos: Bravo TV

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